The Equality Act 2010 came into effect on October 1 this year. The legislation may be passed, but changing the social mores of a nation takes time. You only have to look at the history books.
Nigel Cole’s film Made in Dagenham reminds us of the battle women have faced for equal pay. Predating the Equal Pay Act by two years, the film tells the story of skilled Ford factory machinists paid 92 per cent of the unskilled male wage, even though they needed three machining skills to be taken on.
At the end of their three-week strike the women settled for a marginal pay increase and reclassification as semi-skilled workers – they still earned less than the paint sprayers and mechanics graded as skilled workers.
But the impact of the dispute was far greater than that and the machinists captured the country’s attention including that of the Labour government. This paved the way for the Equal Pay Act of 1970 and subsequent legislation which has now culminated in the Equality Act 2010.
While the pay gap has narrowed considerably since 1970, there is room for improvement. The report from the Equality Commission published last week demonstrates that progress is stuttering and may have halted altogether.
The Equality Commission calculates that full-time women earn on average 16.4 per cent less than men in comparable roles. The gap is narrowest under 30, but by the time women reach their 40s the gap has widened to 27 per cent of the male rate. Having children causes a 58 per cent loss of earnings over a working lifetime – a considerable price to pay. A report by the Chartered Management Institute suggests progress is such that it will be another 57 years before women reach pay parity with men (see The Guardian for more).
So women with similar qualifications to men still end up in less senior roles because of the necessity to combine work and family commitments. Various governments have attempted to create family friendly policies, but women are still disadvantaged by working in an environment that was developed with the male worker in mind.
It remains to be seen whether the concept of ‘positive action’ due to be introduced in 2011 will in fact be enacted by the Coalition Government. And the step of publishing pay information for those employing more than 250 staff due in 2013 may be delayed. Another nail in the coffin for equal pay as noted by the Jobsworth blog The Equality Act Here at Last: Worth the Wait? Pay inequality is not going to be removed until full disclosure is required
But I believe it will take more than just that. For the equal pay battle to move on a new generation of young women will need to take up the baton. But it seems they are not as enthused as their mothers about tackling the disadvantages – perhaps that is a question of those in work simply being glad to have a job. Or perhaps progress only happens incrementally. And maybe a generation needs time to consolidate gains and the social mores of a nation need time to catch up with legislation.
Steve Walker has designed and delivered bespoke training to us on a number of topics, most recently project management for directors. He has taken time and care to ensure he delivers solutions that really work for us and fit our culture. Steve has excellent interpersonal skills as well which allows him to work with diverse groups within the same organisation.
